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In Search of a Shadow Berlin
Deutsche Oper
01/26/2025 - & January 30, February 2, 5, 8, 11*, 2025
Richard Strauss : Die Frau ohne Schatten, opus 65
Clay Hilley/David Butt Philip* (Der Kaiser), Daniela Köhler (Die Kaiserin), Jordan Shanahan (Barak), Catherine Foster (Die Farberin), Marina Prudenskaya (Ame), Patrick Guetti (The Messenger of Keikobad), Hye‑Young Moon (The Guardian of the Threshold), Nina Solodovnikova (The Voice of a Falcon), Philipp Jakal (The one‑eyed man), Padraic Rowan (The one‑armed man), Thomas Colluffo (The hunchback), Chance Jonas‑O’Toole (The Apparition of a Youth), Stephanie Wake Edwards (A Voice from Above)
Chor der Deutschen Oper Berlin, Jeremy Bines (chorus master), Kinderchor der Deutschen Oper Berlin, Christian Lindhorst (chorus master), Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin, Donald Runnicles/Axel Kober* (conductor)
Tobias Kratzer (stage director), Rainer Sellmaier (sets, costumes), Olaf Winter (lighting), Janic Bebi, Manuel Braun, Jonas Dahl (videography), Jörg Königsdorf (dramaturgy)
(© Matthias Baus)
Die Frau ohne Schatten (1919) is the longest and most complex opera Richard Strauss ever wrote. Despite a difficult beginning, following WWI, and relative apathy from public and critics alike who found it too philosophical, it managed to take its place in the repertoire in the German-speaking world. A rarity outside Germanophone countries, it requires a top‑notch cast of at least five leading singers: the Emperor; the Empress; the Dyer Barak; Barak’s wife; and finally the Nurse, in addition to a large, first‑rate orchestra.
Hugo von Hofmannsthal’s complex libretto is based on Eastern sources, from the Arabian Nights, Javanese and other sources. It’s almost always produced as a fairy tale, without necessarily putting the accent on its philosophical aspects. It can thus be enjoyed by the general public as a fantastical tale that need not be thoroughly dissected. Director Tobias Kratzer, however, obviously thought otherwise, and decided to remove its supernatural elements, to transport it to the present day and to treat it as part of a Richard Strauss “trilogy” (the other two operas being Intermezzo and Arabella) which it is not. All three operas deal with couple relations. Possibly, the question being asked is one about marital happiness.
The shadowless woman is a woman who cannot cast a shadow–like vampires and other supernatural beings–and who cannot bear children. The Empress, daughter of Keikobad, King of the Spirit Realm, was captured by the Emperor while she assumed the shape of a gazelle. Keikobad gives his daughter one year to acquire a shadow. If not, she will return to his realm and the Emperor will be turned to stone. The opera opens with Keikobad’s messenger reminding the Empress’s Nurse that only three days are left for her to acquire a shadow. In a modernization spree, the messenger is a UPS delivery man.
Thanks to the machinations of her nurse, the Empress connives to steal the ability to bear children from a wretched poor woman, the wife of Barak the Dyer. In the process of stealing the woman’s shadow, the Empress suddenly understands human suffering, developing compassion. She refuses to steal the Dyer’s wife’s shadow, and hence becomes human herself, acquiring a shadow.
Kratzer’s production uses a revolving set, with one side the elegant dwelling of the Empress and the Emperor, while in the other live the Dyer Barak and his wife, who own a laundromat. The Empress and her Nurse travel to the world of the humans with the intention of tempting the unhappy Dyer’s wife to sell her shadow in return for material wealth. They bring trinkets in shopping bags from Chanel, Gucci and other high‑end brands. She’s intrigued, but does not covet these luxuries. The Nurse then produces a handsome young gigolo, nearly succeeding in tempting the Dyer’s wife. In Kratzer’s updated version, the Empress offers the Dyer’s wife to be her surrogate mother. A video showing artificial insemination is shown. Another of Kratzer’s modern methods of obtaining a shadow is adoption. We’re shown a posh adoption agency with rows of babies available to those who can afford them. By juxtaposing the two couples, rich and poor, Kratzer raises the issue of social disparity, far removed from Hofmannsthal’s symbolist libretto.
In Act III, the Empress is forced to attend a baby shower where she’s offered the score of Die Frau ohne Schatten. She adamantly refuses to pilfer the Dyer’s wife’s shadow. Despite seeing her husband turn to stone for failing to obtain a shadow within a year, the Empress refuses to even save her own husband at the expense of the Dyer’s wife’s potential happiness. In this renunciation, the Empress demonstrates the essence of being human, thereby acquiring a shadow and saving the Emperor.
In an epilogue set to the opera’s glorious finale, the Empress is a Kindergarten teacher. Barak and his wife obtain an amicable divorce, and Barak, apparently now a single father, fetches his daughter from the Kindergarten. This is contrary to the opera’s actual conclusion, where both couples sing of their humanity, praising their unborn children.
German dramatic soprano Daniela Köhler portrayed an aloof and timid Empress, but perhaps this is the director’s opinion of the character. She comes to life once she repudiates her Nurse, her link to her father’s Spirit Realm, thus shedding her spirit nature. At the baby shower, she is of a different temperament. When she utters “Ich will nicht,” refusing to usurp the Dyer’s wife’s shadow, she is transformed, her voice more incisive. A handsome, slim woman, Köhler looked regal, with a majestic stage presence. This role, one of Strauss’s most demanding ones, is associated with such illustrious voices as Leonie Rysanek, Ingrid Bjöner, Gundula Janowitz, Cheryl Studer and Tamara Wilson. Though Köhler was excellent, I didn’t feel the shivers I’d hoped for from the Empress’s high notes, except at the finale.
English dramatic soprano Catherine Foster was a thrilling Dyer’s Wife, earthy and expressive. She was convincing as an utterly unhappy woman. Her humanity was transmitted from her first appearance onstage; a tired, distraught and angry woman. Her powerful soprano was incisive and dominated the performance.
The role of the sinister Nurse is perhaps the most intriguing. Russian mezzo Marina Prudenskaya was possibly the most riveting actor in this production. It’s truly a complex role, as she loves the Empress and accompanies her in her mission both out of love and out of fear from Keikobad. Kratzer’s vision of her is overly bourgeois, a characteristic she portrays to perfection. I think of the Nurse as sinister but also as earthy. The advantage of this bourgeois attribute is that she was measured, unlike many who interpret this role. By not singing too forte and by acting cool, she was altogether more ominous.
English tenor David Butt Philip specializes in Strauss and other German composers. His powerful voice had the necessary squillo to make him credible as Emperor. His diction was remarkable and his voice never forced. Incidentally, he was a glorious Apollo in Strauss’s Daphne, in Vienna.
American bass-baritone Jordan Shanahan was a dignified Barak, the opera’s only named character. This is not fortuitous, for Barak is kind and generous, and despite his flaws, is a compassionate human being. It’s more thanks to the Empress’s contact with him that she understands people and develops compassion. Thanks to his warm, powerful voice and convincing acting, Shanahan was the touching Barak he was born to play.
Of the secondary roles, American bass Patrick Guetti stood out as Keikobad’s messenger, with a beautifully sonorous voice. His stage presence was immense, helping him seem all the more menacing.
Recently heard conducting Der fliegende Holländer in both Düsseldorf and Dresden, Axel Kober led the Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin with passion and brio. Contrary to what some may think of this score, it is not always huge sounding. It subtly alternates between thick orchestral and almost chamber music‑like passages. It takes great expertise and a true affinity for Strauss’s music to manage the vastly disparate dynamics of this music.
Kratzer’s treatment of the opera was certainly original. It afforded the possibility of appreciating Strauss’s most impenetrable opera without much symbolism or philosophy. However, this treatment betrayed the essence of the opera. Unfortunately, Kratzer took the storyline too literally. Having a shadow is being human, not simply being fertile and able to procreate. Next month, I hope to see the other two operas in Kratzer’s Strauss “trilogy.” Perhaps I will then better understand the director’s intentions. I may not be convinced by the present staging, but it’s always a thrill to experience Strauss’s greatest opera with outstanding singers, supported by an orchestra of the highest calibre.
Ossama el Naggar
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